Big fix

I just discovered Bigfix in my program files directory. From what I Googled
seems I probably should disable it in Msconfig.

What say?

Running XP Home SP3 on an emachine.

TIA


--
You know it's time to clean the refrigerator
when something closes the door from the inside.

KenK wrote:

I just discovered Bigfix in my program files directory. From what I Googled
seems I probably should disable it in Msconfig.

What say?

Running XP Home SP3 on an emachine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BigFix_Inc

Is this your computer? Or is it a loaner from your employer? If a
loaner, you might find it won't work when you lug it back into work and
connect to the corporate network. If the computer was a sell-off or
giveaway from your employer (i.e., they got rid of old stuff) then you
should've wiped the hard disk and installed a fresh copy of the OS.
Unless the employer includes a legit (non-volume) license for the OS,
you only got hardware (that was polluted), no software and no licenses
for it.

"KenK" wrote in message
...

I just discovered Bigfix in my program files directory. From what I Googled
seems I probably should disable it in Msconfig.
What say?

When in doubt, you can safely follow this procedure (dating from
approx. 1990.)
1. Rename the EXE file (or the whole directory) with prefix X and
reboot.
2. Run as normal.
3. If normal operation calls the doubtful program you will see an
error message (that it is not found under its name in Registry.)
4(a) If #3 happens, just rename the EXE (or folder) correctly
and reboot.
4(b) If nothing happens, you can uninstal or delete the pgm
when you get around to it.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

VanguardLH wrote in :

KenK wrote:

I just discovered Bigfix in my program files directory. From what I
Googled seems I probably should disable it in Msconfig.

What say?

Running XP Home SP3 on an emachine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BigFix_Inc

Is this your computer? Or is it a loaner from your employer? If a
loaner, you might find it won't work when you lug it back into work
and connect to the corporate network. If the computer was a sell-off
or giveaway from your employer (i.e., they got rid of old stuff) then
you should've wiped the hard disk and installed a fresh copy of the
OS. Unless the employer includes a legit (non-volume) license for the
OS, you only got hardware (that was polluted), no software and no
licenses for it.


This is my personal computer which I purchased new.




--
You know it's time to clean the refrigerator
when something closes the door from the inside.

KenK wrote:

VanguardLH wrote in :
^___________________________________^

Unnecessary in attribution line. Listed at
end of References header in your own post.
KenK wrote:

I just discovered Bigfix in my program files directory. From what I
Googled seems I probably should disable it in Msconfig.

Running XP Home SP3 on an emachine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BigFix_Inc

Is this your computer? Or is it a loaner from your employer? If a
loaner, you might find it won't work when you lug it back into work
and connect to the corporate network. If the computer was a sell-off
or giveaway from your employer (i.e., they got rid of old stuff) then
you should've wiped the hard disk and installed a fresh copy of the
OS. Unless the employer includes a legit (non-volume) license for the
OS, you only got hardware (that was polluted), no software and no
licenses for it.

This is my personal computer which I purchased new.

So it's not the BigFix that I found. It's some other BigFix program
assuming someone else didn't install the corporate BigFix program or you
didn't hook your computer into your employer's corporate network and
they pushed it onto "their workstation" in their network. BigFix is
also used by some universities.

Malware can call itself anything; however, I couldn't find a reference
to "BigFix malware". Maybe it was bloatware that many vendors shove
onto their pre-builts. If you buy pre-built computers, they always come
with bloatware for their own purpose (remote support) or trialware to
make it look like you got more than just the OS on their pre-built.
Maybe whomever you bought this new pre-built installed it as part of
their remote troubleshooting service. From the wiki article, BigFix
includes anti-malware protection and remote management.

If you're not toting this computer to your employer's network, a
university's network, or anywhere else where they might push programs
onto hosts that are in their network (you're on their network so you
become one of their workstations) then I'd suggest to uninstall it. Why
just disable it from loading (to use up memory) but leave it behind (to
use up disk space)? It is not listed in the Add/Remove Programs applet?

https://www.google.com/search?q=uninstall%20bigfix
found
https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/c...move%20Utility

If you don't want to delve into IBM's web site to research what is
BigFix, there are some YouTube videos you can watch, like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzvrEPFy6sM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKcoswSQmx4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySyx...Prm czodpByrX

and several more found by searching on "bigfix chalktalk" at YouTube.

VanguardLH wrote:
KenK wrote:

VanguardLH wrote in :
^___________________________________^

Unnecessary in attribution line. Listed at
end of References header in your own post.
KenK wrote:

I just discovered Bigfix in my program files directory. From what I
Googled seems I probably should disable it in Msconfig.

Running XP Home SP3 on an emachine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BigFix_Inc

Is this your computer? Or is it a loaner from your employer? If a
loaner, you might find it won't work when you lug it back into work
and connect to the corporate network. If the computer was a sell-off
or giveaway from your employer (i.e., they got rid of old stuff) then
you should've wiped the hard disk and installed a fresh copy of the
OS. Unless the employer includes a legit (non-volume) license for the
OS, you only got hardware (that was polluted), no software and no
licenses for it.

This is my personal computer which I purchased new.

So it's not the BigFix that I found. It's some other BigFix program
assuming someone else didn't install the corporate BigFix program or you
didn't hook your computer into your employer's corporate network and
they pushed it onto "their workstation" in their network. BigFix is
also used by some universities.

Malware can call itself anything; however, I couldn't find a reference
to "BigFix malware". Maybe it was bloatware that many vendors shove
onto their pre-builts. If you buy pre-built computers, they always come
with bloatware for their own purpose (remote support) or trialware to
make it look like you got more than just the OS on their pre-built.
Maybe whomever you bought this new pre-built installed it as part of
their remote troubleshooting service. From the wiki article, BigFix
includes anti-malware protection and remote management.

If you're not toting this computer to your employer's network, a
university's network, or anywhere else where they might push programs
onto hosts that are in their network (you're on their network so you
become one of their workstations) then I'd suggest to uninstall it. Why
just disable it from loading (to use up memory) but leave it behind (to
use up disk space)? It is not listed in the Add/Remove Programs applet?

https://www.google.com/search?q=uninstall%20bigfix
found
https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/c...move%20Utility

If you don't want to delve into IBM's web site to research what is
BigFix, there are some YouTube videos you can watch, like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzvrEPFy6sM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKcoswSQmx4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySyx...Prm czodpByrX

and several more found by searching on "bigfix chalktalk" at YouTube.

Big Fix was a program that updated Windows back in 2006 or so. I had it
on a couple of computers. Worked good then. Mine was BigFix
1.7.6.0--still found at tucows add an .exe to it--I used mine with Win 98SE
Also read here
http://pressf1.pcworld.co.nz/showthr...ix-fix-it-tool

--
You either teach people to treat you with dignity and respect, or
you don't. This means you are partly responsible for the mistreatment
that you get at the hands of someone else.

VanguardLH wrote:
KenK wrote:

VanguardLH wrote in :
^___________________________________^

Unnecessary in attribution line. Listed at
end of References header in your own post.
KenK wrote:

I just discovered Bigfix in my program files directory. From what I
Googled seems I probably should disable it in Msconfig.

Running XP Home SP3 on an emachine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BigFix_Inc

Is this your computer? Or is it a loaner from your employer? If a
loaner, you might find it won't work when you lug it back into work
and connect to the corporate network. If the computer was a sell-off
or giveaway from your employer (i.e., they got rid of old stuff) then
you should've wiped the hard disk and installed a fresh copy of the
OS. Unless the employer includes a legit (non-volume) license for the
OS, you only got hardware (that was polluted), no software and no
licenses for it.
This is my personal computer which I purchased new.

So it's not the BigFix that I found.

Maybe it's something provided by an ISP ?

You wouldn't believe the stuff some ISPs
offer to their users. Like crufty AV products
nobody should be using. Stay well away from
any ISP software... They have poor taste in
selecting software.

There is an uninstaller, if you cannot find an
entry in Add/Remove. I would scan that on Virustotal
before using it.

How it gets on the computer:

https://uit.stanford.edu/software/bigfix

How it gets off the computer:

https://uit.stanford.edu/service/bigfix/uninstall

http://software.bigfix.com/download/...e9.2.0.363.exe

# One hit in scan. Probably a false positive.

https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/d...018c/analysis/

Paul

JAS wrote:

Big Fix was a program that updated Windows back in 2006 or so. I had
it on a couple of computers. Worked good then. Mine was BigFix
1.7.6.0--still found at tucows add an .exe to it--I used mine with
Win 98SE Also read here
http://pressf1.pcworld.co.nz/showthr...ix-fix-it-tool

That forum thread had a link to bigfix.com. When I went there, I got
redirected to IBM's web site. So the BigFix discussed there got
acquired by IBM. That forum thread is dated back in 2003. IBM acquired
BigFix in 2010.

http://forums.xfinity.com/t5/Anti-Vi...-0/td-p/335975

That forum back in 2004 mentions a "Consumer" edition of BigFix. So
they had a consumer grade product and something bigger, like for
corporate management of workstations (and probably why IBM grabbed it).

I used the web archive to see if they saved a copy of the bigfix.com web
pages from back then. I found many but wanted to go back to the dates
for the forum threads. I picked one from Feb 2003 at:

https://web.archive.org/web/20040202...ite/index.html

Yep, that was some enterprise-grade workstation management software.
They had a crippled limited-feature "consumer" version that they were
dispersing for free through the tech rags to get exposure.

Windows XP was released in April 2001, mainstream support ended in April
2009, and extended support was dropped in April 2014. The OP didn't say
how old is his XP setup. Maybe it was built before 2010 (when IBM
grabbed BigFix) and when the Consumer edition was being given away.
Could be the pre-built vendor dumped BigFix in with their bloatware or
the OP installed the freebie Consumer edition so long ago that he forgot
all about it.

VanguardLH wrote:
JAS wrote:

Big Fix was a program that updated Windows back in 2006 or so. I had
it on a couple of computers. Worked good then. Mine was BigFix
1.7.6.0--still found at tucows add an .exe to it--I used mine with
Win 98SE Also read here
http://pressf1.pcworld.co.nz/showthr...ix-fix-it-tool

That forum thread had a link to bigfix.com. When I went there, I got
redirected to IBM's web site. So the BigFix discussed there got
acquired by IBM. That forum thread is dated back in 2003. IBM acquired
BigFix in 2010.

http://forums.xfinity.com/t5/Anti-Vi...-0/td-p/335975

That forum back in 2004 mentions a "Consumer" edition of BigFix. So
they had a consumer grade product and something bigger, like for
corporate management of workstations (and probably why IBM grabbed it).

I used the web archive to see if they saved a copy of the bigfix.com web
pages from back then. I found many but wanted to go back to the dates
for the forum threads. I picked one from Feb 2003 at:

https://web.archive.org/web/20040202...ite/index.html

Yep, that was some enterprise-grade workstation management software.
They had a crippled limited-feature "consumer" version that they were
dispersing for free through the tech rags to get exposure.

Windows XP was released in April 2001, mainstream support ended in April
2009, and extended support was dropped in April 2014. The OP didn't say
how old is his XP setup. Maybe it was built before 2010 (when IBM
grabbed BigFix) and when the Consumer edition was being given away.
Could be the pre-built vendor dumped BigFix in with their bloatware or
the OP installed the freebie Consumer edition so long ago that he forgot
all about it.

Yes it has been awhile. I still have the3 download file and remember
when it was phased out. It was OK for what I wanted at the time. I never
had a problem with it way back.

JAS

--
You either teach people to treat you with dignity and respect, or
you don't. This means you are partly responsible for the mistreatment
that you get at the hands of someone else.

VanguardLH wrote in :

JAS wrote:

Big Fix was a program that updated Windows back in 2006 or so. I had
it on a couple of computers. Worked good then. Mine was BigFix
1.7.6.0--still found at tucows add an .exe to it--I used mine with
Win 98SE Also read here
http://pressf1.pcworld.co.nz/showthr...ix-fix-it-tool

That forum thread had a link to bigfix.com. When I went there, I got
redirected to IBM's web site. So the BigFix discussed there got
acquired by IBM. That forum thread is dated back in 2003. IBM
acquired BigFix in 2010.

http://forums.xfinity.com/t5/Anti-Vi.../PC-World-BigF
ix-v1-7-6-0/td-p/335975

That forum back in 2004 mentions a "Consumer" edition of BigFix. So
they had a consumer grade product and something bigger, like for
corporate management of workstations (and probably why IBM grabbed
it).

I used the web archive to see if they saved a copy of the bigfix.com
web pages from back then. I found many but wanted to go back to the
dates for the forum threads. I picked one from Feb 2003 at:

https://web.archive.org/web/20040202...com/website/in
dex.html

Yep, that was some enterprise-grade workstation management software.
They had a crippled limited-feature "consumer" version that they were
dispersing for free through the tech rags to get exposure.

Windows XP was released in April 2001, mainstream support ended in
April 2009, and extended support was dropped in April 2014. The OP
didn't say how old is his XP setup.

Ordered from Tiger Direct at 8:23 AM on 2/10/05. This is the XP version
and the machine we are discussing.

Maybe it was built before 2010
(when IBM grabbed BigFix) and when the Consumer edition was being
given away. Could be the pre-built vendor dumped BigFix in with their
bloatware or the OP installed the freebie Consumer edition so long ago
that he forgot all about it.

Very very unlikely that I installed it. It likely was already on the
machine and I was not told about it.



--
You know it's time to clean the refrigerator
when something closes the door from the inside.